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29 December 2008

Father Christmas banned in kindergartens in Bosnia

Hundreds of Bosnians have protested against a ban on Father Christmas in Sarajevo's kindergartens.

The directors of Sarajevo's day-care centres, kindergartens and nurseries banned Father Christmas. They argued that the capital is predominantly Muslim and Father Christmas is not part of the Muslim tradition.

But a multi-religious mix of parents, children and others wore Santa Claus hats and blew whistles on a downtown square on Sunday and requested that Father Christmas be restored to the children.

Father Christmas, known locally as Father Frost, has given out presents to generations of Bosnian children in schools, kindergartens and other institutions. This was done even during communist rule and was always tied to New Year's celebrations, not to the Christian holiday. The demonstrators argue that that makes it a Bosnian tradition.